Senator Gwen Boniface

Biography

A police leader, lawyer, and educator, Gwen Boniface is globally recognized for bringing justice and equity to a wide range of issues and having a profound impact on women in policing. She became the first woman appointed as Commissioner of the OPP, and the first female President of the Canadian Association of Chiefs of Police.

She served for three years as the Deputy Chief Inspector of Ireland’s Garda Síochána Inspectorate, tasked with bringing reform to the national police service. She then took on the role of Transnational Organized Crime Expert with the United Nations Police Division, where she advanced the fight against organized crime in conflict and post-conflict countries, while also being a member of the UN Counter Terrorism Integrated Task Force.

She served as Commissioner on the Law Commission of Canada for five years, during which time she participated in independent research, study, and debate on the modernization of a wide range of issues. She also served on the Board of Governors of the Law Commission of Ontario from 2011 to 2014.

Ms. Boniface has worked tirelessly to repair relationships with First Nations communities, initiating many reforms to promote Aboriginal policing. As a consultant on policing and justice issues, both internationally and domestically, she provided services to universities, municipalities, government, and non-profit organizations in areas of human rights, policing, and justice.

She is a long-time member of the International Association of Chiefs of Police (IACP), where she served as Deputy Executive Director. In addition, she was the founding President of the Canadian Police Chiefs International Service Agency, a non-profit organization created to address sexual exploitation of children.

Ms. Boniface was invested into the Order of Ontario in 2001 in recognition of her service for the province and her work with First Nations communities. She also received the United Nations Peacekeeping Medal, and was awarded an honorary doctorate of letters from Nipissing University in 2006.